Oklahoma Ag Leadership Program
OALP Hears From the Roslin Institute- Creator of Dolly the Cloned Sheep
Mon, 20 Feb 2012 17:02:43 CST
Say the name the Roslin Institute- and very few people in Oklahoma or anywhere in the US would have a clue about this animal agriculture oriented research organization. But mention the world famous cloned sheep by the name of Dolly- and many people remember at least some of that ewe's story. Dr. Patricia Hart of the Roslin Institute in Edinburgh, Scotland spoke to Class XV of the Oklahoma Agricultural Leadership Program during this current international travel experience- and described Dolly as one of many achievements that the organization has had over the years.
Dr. Hart says that they learned a tremendous amount about animal genomics and more as they worked on the cloning concept that resulted in creation of Dolly. They have now taken that knowledge and moved on to working on the Genetic Modification of animals involved in agriculture. Work is underway to move forward with a GMO pig as well as a cow. This last year, the Roslin Institute unveiled the progress made in a GMO Chicken, designed to stop the spread of bird flu. Dr. Hart says the animal can still catch the disease, but it is no longer contagious from that bird because of the genetic work done by the scientists at Roslin.
Beyong this work, the Roslin Institute was a major player in research in BSE and the related disease, scrapie, in sheep. And they have had success in a multitude of other areas as well in the last few decades.
Dr. Hart says the work at the Roslin Institute centers around the substainability and productivity of food animals, and believe that quality of life for the animals is also very important.
We talked with Patricia Hart after her presentation with the OALP class- and you can hear our full conversation by clicking on the LISTEN BAR below. You can also learn more about the Roslin Institute by clicking here for their website.
To see more stories from the International Travel Experience of the OALP- click here for our full lineup of reports we have filed from Scotland and Ireland.
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